Poultry expo gives farmers glimpse of new technologies

Some prefer layers, others broilers while for others nothing but kienyeji will do. Chicken breeds vary a great deal – from purpose to productivity – and so are the technologies involved in rearing them.

Again, the economic sense of the technologies depend on the size of one’s flock. Investing in an expensive technology when you have a small flock of birds will definitely burn your fingers, forcing you to close your venture sooner than later.

This is why Aviana Africa has teamed up with stakeholders in the poultry industry in Kenya to educate farmers on new technologies that will help them to manage their poultry better for more profits and quality flocks. 

These technologies were on display at the 2017 International Poultry Expo held this week at the Sarit Centre, Nairobi, by the organised by Aviana Africa.

The two-day expo brought together over 100 local and international exhibitors.

Automated poultry feeder was one of the technologies on display. The automatic feeders which come complete with harpers, feeding pans and mortars is useful for farmers rearing 500 birds and above by minimising the labourious process of feeding a large group of birds.

Ever since the incubator permitted for large scale hatching of chicks, feeding of the flock became one of the biggest challenges every large scale or medium sized poultry farmers have been facing.

When the feeding is manually done, it becomes very labour intensive, time consuming and feeds are also wasted as well, making the venture less profitable in the end.

An automatic feeder, on the other hand, streamlines the process, making it fast and efficient.

Ivan Munoz-Barajaz, the regional manager of International division (Indiv)–the manufacturers of the technology–explained that the feeding system is very easy to operate.

“You simply need to pour the feeds in the hopper which channels the food via a pipe from the first to the last feeding pan in the system,” said Mr Munoz, adding that the mortar which runs the feeding system is electric-powered.

The feeding system also has a sensor which enables it detect when the feed in the troughs is finished and then refills.
Mr Munoz said their firm is based in the United States and is yet to establish a local distributor but their products can be purchased online.

PROPER HOUSING

Also on display was nipple drinker which came highly recommended. Because most chicks and grown birds sometimes suffer the impacts of water contamination, there are other technologies other than the usual bell drinkers, which are water efficient and less prone to contamination as well.

Joppe Schouten, general sales manager at impex, a Dutch company dealing in poultry wares says nipple drinkers minimise any kind of contamination which might threaten the life of the birds.

“When water comes into the drinking lines the birds just tap the nipple for a drink,” explained Mr Schouten, adding the farmers can add medication bucket to the drinking water when administering drugs.

Bell drinkers owned by most farmers on the other hand are quite open which expose the drinking water to all sorts of contamination, he said.

Poultry housing was also explored expo. Fred Kamau, an egg production expert at Big Dutchman – a poultry machinery firm based in Kikuyu – says farmers can also improve the productivity of their birds by ensuring proper housing or by using cages for layers.

The expert added that the smallest cage size they sell houses 560 birds.

“We have two types of cages, the double and the triple. A double cage accommodates 112 birds, the triple houses 168 birds. We recommend farmers use cages because they cut costs by saving on feed costs. This technology allows birds to feed less, separating the litter from feed hence giving little room for contamination,” he pointed out, adding that the only disadvantages of using cages it that they need a lot of space as a result it is only more profitable to farmers with over 500 birds.

The firm has been supplying cages for the last four years to various regions across the country from their Kikuyu town stores.

“These cages can be operated either manually, semi-automatically or full automatically. In a completely automatic cage, the eggs are collected and grouped according to their size, then they are packed in different trays. The litter is collected using a manure scrapper by just pressing a button,” said Mr Kamau.

According to the expert, the system can reduce poultry diseases up to 60-65 per cent but the remaining percentage is up to the farmer to observe bio security and health guidelines of poultry farming.

TACKLING AFLATOXIN IN POULTRY

Farmers rearing chicks can use gas brooders for heating instead of charcoal and diesel which are more expensive because of pollution.

Charcoal can be fatal since it emits Carbon monoxide which is dangerous to animals. The heating brooders must be suspended at an angle on the cage, about three feet from the floor or otherwise it can roast the birds if lower.

Dr Ochieng Odede, technical director at Sidai Africa Kenya Limited, while urging poultry farmers to go commercial noted that farmers should improve their poultry management to make the farming profitable.

“Nowadays there is a big concern on microbial and emerging diseases. The first step to any poultry disease control is healthy management,” he said.

“Aviana Africa has teamed up with stakeholders in poultry industry in Kenya to educate famers on new technologies. One of the target improvement areas is disease control in poultry and other livestock’” Dr Odede pointed out.

He added that they have a number of professionals whose target is to advise farmers on how to construct better poultry structures, the best feeds, the equipment needed, how to treat and control diseases and where they are located, with the a goal of exhibiting how to maximise profits.

“We are also aiming to tackle aflatoxins in poultry feeds by educating the farmers on best practices for storing feeds and advising millers on how to analyse the raw materials when manufacturing poultry feed to eliminate micro toxins,”
While some farmers formulate their own feeds to minimise their costs of production, the expert pointed out farmers do not have diagnostic capabilities and lack the capacity to analyse the raw material forcing them to rely on the goodwill of the raw material suppliers.

“As a result there is a growing need for more accessible diagnostic kits for farmers to test the quality of the raw materials to enable them make safe and quality feeds. Some farmers who make their own feeds do not know the quality of the raw materials they use. Some of them end up in losses, the lucky ones make good money,” Dr Odede said.